Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Okay, here's the deal. This is for older siblings of your totz. But I may use it as a journal for myself!

Each layout has a photographic element and then a text nudge of how to complete the page.

"There's something strange on the horizon...and on the beach, too."

"This tunnel is overflowing with..."

I can imagine the doodling that will take over this book by kiddos. But as I said, I'd love to just doodle and write among the black and white imagery. It's so cool! If you find Photoplay!, let us know what your plans are. Joan, how about you?

Monday, February 24, 2014

Can You Say It, Too? is a simple series from Nosy Crow by Sebastien Braun. Thick pages and big flaps are designed to sustain being held in the smallest hands. Whether it's animals you might see around a home, Woof! Woof! or farm animals, Moo! Moo!, totz will enjoy guessing who is behind the flap and making the animal sounds themselves. Cheerful, round-eyed creatures in flat bold colors and engaging and fun.

Often a hint is given for who is hiding by tails or ears protruding beyond the flaps. The final spread in both works offers a double flap to include babies. Look for these for your youngest totz. And let the woofing and mooing begin!

Images were created digitally, but there's a definite freshness due to the jagged line. Templar Books has added a silver foil on the cover and throughout, for snow and ice. This is a perfect book. Happy Poetry Friday!

Monday, February 17, 2014

Sometimes other authors just beat you to it in this profession! This just happened to me. Giles Andreae nailed the concept I was playing around with for a board book. I wanted to portray animals doing the tango, the waltz, the jive. Giraffes Can't Dance, Number Rumba Counting Book caught it before I could dance my way straight.

Totz will enjoy seeing the recognizable giraffe again from Giraffes Can't Dance. Each page has an animal peeking from the book's border. That animal will take the stage to leap to the beat when the page is reached. Clever, fun, and energized, your totz will be tapping along and counting the animals rocking out.

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Certain books sing when you open the cover. At the Same Moment Around the World sang for me. From the elongated layout allowing for the curve of the earth, to the record of what might be happening each moment around the world, I listened and smiled. The work begins and ends at 6 am in Dakar, Senegal. Each hour is marked as the reader travels the globe. Listen:

"At the same moment,
in Baghdad, Iraq, it
is nine o'clock in the
morning, and Yasmine
plays while her mother
shops at the market."

Several pages later...

"At the same moment,
in Anadyr, Russia, it
is six o'clock in the
evening when Ivan
takes his dog for
a walk around the
neighborhood."

The feeling of community and oneness is beautifully exemplified. The illustrations are like an edgier Brian Karas, rendered in pencil with digital color. Rich warm pages are juxtaposed against cool ones. Enjoy this work, including the fold-out world map, with the older siblings of your totz.

Monday, February 3, 2014

Obviously. I love when I find a collection of board books, and I think: obviously. Knopf has created a series that should be on the shelves. With Leo Lionni's beloved mice, totz will explore Who? What? Where? and When?

Each book begins with a question which is left unanswered, apart from the image provided. Although Who? does name the animal. I wonder why this is so? The lack of answers in the other three works may be assuring to the child that he will know and deduce correctly.

Apparently, this imagery was used in a series in 1983. The new text is provided by Nora and Louis Mannie Lionni. They hit the mark. I recommend this series. Obviously!

Around the Block with Sesame Street

Joan's new board books: This Little Trailblazer, Mighty Dads, This Little President

Our Mission

readertotz, little sister site to readergirlz, is a board book blog dedicated to raising the profile and quality of infant/toddler books, the first genre in children's literature able to instill a love of reading.

Titles featured are books Joan and Lorie Ann purchase, library books, and/or publishing house submissions. Our responses are our honest opinions, sometimes with constructive feedback; but we only post about books we like, so you won't find any completely negative reviews/responses here.